Window-Less

[Sean_W]

Originally Posted by nekrosoft13

if you want to act childish, fine.

i will if, you stay out of windows\gaming etc.. section

I still game and I know a lot about Windows. Your knowledge of Linux is clearly about 5 years out of date.

Childish? Your're the one coming here making such baseless comments and claims.

[nekrosoft13]

Originally Posted by grey_1

I run into quite a few Macs, which I'm not that good at, but mostly they ask questions about "Did I set my wireless router up right?"

I do run into quite a bit of clueless mac folks, but there also are quite that manage to break their machines.

edit, peace and quiet now

[ViN86]

I have found that Ubuntu (and Debian for that matter) work very well if you use the package managers like you should.

WINE also works quite well and has an extensive list of fixes and documents for how to get specific software working. For example, I installed Office 07 (very easy to do) and PowerPoint didn't work. All I had to do was use WINE Tools and check one box and PowerPoint worked flawlessly.

The truth (imo) is, if you have the patience for it, Linux is a great alternative to Windows. Really, the only thing Windows has over Linux is its gaming support. My two cents.

[nekrosoft13]

Originally Posted by ViN86

The truth (imo) is, if you have the patience for it, Linux is a great alternative to Windows. Really, the only thing Windows has over Linux is its gaming support. My two cents.

and hardware support, the scanner, Camera tethering and Canopus (green valley) HD capture card issues was about a year and half ago. Windows 7 was in late beta stages/early RC stages, when I tried linux most recently.

I did some googling and there is something called gPhoto2 that supports tethering on linux, but its still rather limited, it can shoot images from camera that is tethered to the PC. Some more advance functions/controls like bulb, shutter speed, aperture, highlight priorority, bracketing, white balance etc.... either can't be changed or don't function.

user interface, simplicity, "friendliness" is another aspect Linux still needs a lot of work on

[Sean_W]

Nobody ever said Linux supports every device ever created but it has the best hardware support out of the box without needing extra drivers or third party ones.

If manufactures don't offer up specs and drivers for Linux, the devs have to write them themselves.

[ViN86]

Originally Posted by nekrosoft13

and hardware support, the scanner, Camera tethering and Canopus (green valley) HD capture card issues was about a year and half ago. Windows 7 was in late beta stages/early RC stages, when I tried linux most recently.

I did some googling and there is something called gPhoto2 that supports tethering on linux, but its still rather limited, it can shoot images from camera that is tethered to the PC. Some more advance functions/controls like bulb, shutter speed, aperture, highlight priorority, bracketing, white balance etc.... either can't be changed or don't function.

user interface, simplicity, "friendliness" is another aspect Linux still needs a lot of work on

Originally Posted by Sean_W

Nobody ever said Linux supports every device ever created but it has the best hardware support out of the box without needing extra drivers or third party ones.

If manufactures don't offer up specs and drivers for Linux, the devs have to write them themselves.

Right, a lot of Linux issues with drivers are similar to those with Vista. Some manufacturers refuse to release drivers for Vista for older products (e.g. older scanners and printers) making them obsolete. Similarly, some manufacturers don't release drivers for Linux.

However, some generic drivers do work exceptionally well.

[nekrosoft13]

Originally Posted by ViN86

Right, a lot of Linux issues with drivers are similar to those with Vista. Some manufacturers refuse to release drivers for Vista for older products (e.g. older scanners and printers) making them obsolete. Similarly, some manufacturers don't release drivers for Linux.

However, some generic drivers do work exceptionally well.

in this case, those products were neither old or obsolete

[ViN86]

Originally Posted by nekrosoft13

in this case, those products were neither old or obsolete

Yea, that happens with brand new products sometime. There is a slight delay between launch and drivers being available.

What did you specifically have a hard time getting to work? Were there drivers available? What distro did you use? Did you try generic drivers?

Linux is powerful, but the learning curve is steep.

[six_storm]

Originally Posted by ViN86

Yea, that happens with brand new products sometime. There is a slight delay between launch and drivers being available.

What did you specifically have a hard time getting to work? Were there drivers available? What distro did you use? Did you try generic drivers?

Linux is powerful, but the learning curve is steep.

Steep is an understatement IMO.

I've still got Ubuntu on the old, junky work laptop but I rarely use it.

[Sean_W]

Well, it's not one size fits all like Windows. Ubuntu is a lot more like that, in the sense that only GNOME is installed by default, Photo app, Web browser, Social Networking, Disk Burner, Video Editor and an Office Suit are default, which is what most people need.

I think you'll find that people who have never used a computer, would find Ubuntu easy to use, since Windows corrupts their view because they know it already.

[ViN86]

Originally Posted by six_storm

Steep is an understatement IMO.

I've still got Ubuntu on the old, junky work laptop but I rarely use it.

I started with Slackware 9. Ubuntu nowadays is very Windows-like.

Slackware is different. There isn't a package manager, and many changes require editing script files in text editors. The learning curve on Slackware is very steep, but it's the best distro to truly understand what's going on and have complete control of your system.

Originally Posted by Sean_W

Well, it's not one size fits all like Windows. Ubuntu is a lot more like that, in the sense that only GNOME is installed by default, Photo app, Web browser, Social Networking, Disk Burner, Video Editor and an Office Suit are default, which is what most people need.

I think you'll find that people who have never used a computer, would find Ubuntu easy to use, since Windows corrupts their view because they know it already.

Ubuntu is the best "learning" distro in my rather uneducated opinion. Easy to install and use, but everything is still there for someone who wants to take it apart.

What really surprised me was how far hardware recognition has come over the past couple of years - that's a God send.